blogs Archives

April 23, 2007

Using Google's AJAX Search API

You first have to sign up for a license key. (Google gives you a big, long key, ~100 characters.)

And the key is only valid for one domain. I initially signed up for a key to use with the new blog (subdomain > blogs.radified.com) .. but it wouldn't work when I tried to use it on the site's home page.

It gave me an error when I loaded this page, saying I needed to apply for a new key. (No problemo.) So I now have two AJAX Search API keys. (When I convert today's entry into a blog entry later, I'll need to generate new AJAX code.)

April 29, 2007

Comparing Joomla vs Drupal Content Management Systems - Part I/II

Thinking of splitting-out site content pertaining to my experiences as a dad .. to a NEW site, such as raddad.com (oops, that domain name already taken) .. or rad-dad.com (uh, that one is also taken). One reader suggested dadified.

Anyway, I'll find somenew domain that will work. (Costs a measly $10/yr, and I already have tons of content I could transfer.)

What do you think of oneraddad.com? or radfather.com? Those two are still available. Ideas? (Shorter the better.)

April 30, 2007

Lightbox2 Image Overlay (JavaScript)

Click the thumbnail image (of the Newport Back Bay) to your right, and a larger version *should* pop-up .. in a cool-looking overlay, with the rest of the page assuming a smoked-glass appearance.

Web site designers like Lightbox because it allows the reader (you) to view an image (or images) without taking you away from the page you're reading. Simply click the Close button, and you return here (never really left).

I like it cuz it allows me to display a photo on a separate "page" (so to speak), with a black background, without having to create a separate web page (*.htm), such as I did > here. Plus it opens with a cool animated ("fancy pants") launcher, perfectly centered.

I very much like v3.35, finding it sophisticated, elegant & powerful, especially after "upgrading" from v2.63 (v3.35 was actually a new installation), which I installed back in May 2003.

Heard rumblings that 6A has invested considerable developmental resources into v4.0, so I'm looking forward to checking it out .. tho my days of being an "early adopter" are long gone.

I'll probably migrate to v4.x after the 1st or 2nd update (4.01, or 4.02). Actually, I'll probably do another new installation, like I did with v3.35.

Word on the street is that 6A neglected Movable Type while working on the Enterprise version & TypePad, and have now come back (with a vengeance) to focus on making MT the best blogging platform (on the planet).

Valid, Well-formed XHTML Post Content

Movable Type's Rich Text Editor is now completely modular allowing a developer to create a plugin to swap in the rich text editor of their choice. A plugin for the popular FCK editor which outputs semantically valid XHTML has been created by Six Apart and is available in our plugin directory.

The biggest trouble I have with MT 3.35 (which I currently use) is with the editor. (I use TinyMCE.) It strips out code I want to use for Lightbox (among other things), causing much grief.

So the option to use a variety of editors, especially the FCK editor, which outputs well-formed XHTML (which I've been studying), will be very cool. (Wonder how they came up with that almost-profane name.)

People are grumbling (see comments) cuz *only* the Commercial version (which costs $235) will come with a feature called Custom Fields, a feature which moves MT in the direction of Content Management (like Drupal, for example), and away from pure blogging software.

I'm also interested in Expression Engine, (which supports Custom Fields natively). But EE is not free for personal use (like MT4). If they would comp me a license, I'd go that route (especially if they release a version with a WYSIWYG editor). Maybe I'll ask. Can't hurt, right?

As fate would have it, MT 4.1 was released yesterday. (Woohoo!) Actually, I really want to use the new Open Source version (MTOS), which was supposed to provide the first stable release (of MTOS) concurrent with the release of MT 4.1.

Oh, wait. Here it is! (Downloading now.) Have to admit, I've been looking forward to this release. (Download complete.)

Been watching the progress of MT4 since it was released last summer. And *this* version (4.1) is the one to get. (I officially recommend it.) It's where I've decided to jump in (at the first stable release of MTOS).

Note that this will be a new/clean install .. NOT an upgrade. Only bad thing is that the documentation for MT 4.1 isn't yet complete, especially for the things I wanna do/use, such as the FCKeditor.

I was looking hard at ExpressionEngine, but they're in the process trying to release EE 2.0, which breaks backward-compatibility (for the first time in their history), which makes the current EE 1.x a dead end. And all X.0 releases always need bug fixes. So that would involve a long wait (for EE 2.0x), while MTOS 4.x is here now. Plus it's FREE!, unlike EE.

I've also been learning lots about XHTML/CSS, so I'm very much looking forward to redesigning the site. Now that I have the skillz to do whatever I want (regarding site design), I'm looking forward to translating my ideas into design. This is what I'm *most* excited about, and where I've been focusing most of my geek-energy (learning).

I also been getting letters from folks, asking about a re-design of the Black Beast, updated for 2008. I love doing that, but it takes more time than you might imagine, so I'm still on the fence there.

January 31, 2008

New Rad Blog » Upgraded to Movable Type Open Source (MTOS 4.1)

This will be the final entry is this particular blog (Movable Type 3.35). I just installed Movable Type Open Source v4.1 .. which is the *first* open source release from Six Apart (makers of Movable Type). This is a big deal!

So you will find all new entries at the NEW BLOG .. see here » Rad's new blog » Ye Olde Rad Blog III (based on Movable Type Open Source v4.1)